The maturing of wireless communication networks has created a new venue for more demanding applications that require high data transfer rates with low error rates. Applications may include voice or video conferencing, which are directed to a specific mobile unit, and voice or video broadcasting, which are directed to multiple mobile units. A problem that arises is that wireless networks have a very limited bandwidth and higher data error rates than their wired cousins.
In addition, as the number of users sending data over a common channel increases, the bandwidth available to an individual data stream decreases. In the wireless environment where bandwidth is at a premium, this very quickly becomes a limiting factor to the system. Broadband and/or time sensitive data applications, though, are not practical without guaranteed bandwidth. There is, therefore, a great need for a comprehensive system that can manage the limited bandwidth of wireless networks to provide a high data rate for broadband applications without compromising error rates.